BEREA, Ohio — Las Vegas seems like the perfect place for Shedeur Sanders’ first NFL start.
The Browns’ flashy rookie quarterback with the Hall of Fame father, bright smile and huge fan base will start Sunday in arguably America’s glitziest city against the Raiders as the Browns turn to him while fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel recovers from a concussion.
Sanders replaced an injured Gabriel for the second half of last week’s 23-16 loss to Baltimore. It was a shaky debut as Sanders, who was drafted by Cleveland in the fifth round, completed just 4 of 16 passes with an interception. He was also sacked twice and fumbled once.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that Gabriel remains in the concussion protocol but is improving.
Sanders was fourth on Cleveland’s depth chart during training camp, behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Gabriel. But the Browns, who have spent decades in search of a franchise QB, traded both Pickett and Flacco before starting Gabriel in six games.
Sanders will be the 42nd quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999, and the 18th rookie. They’ve gone 0-17 in their debuts.
Sanders, the son of Hall of Fame cornerback and current Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders, had been projected as a first-round pick in April’s draft. However, all 32 teams passed on the Colorado standout before the Browns selected him with the No. 144 overall pick, two rounds after they took Gabriel.
While Sanders was playing his first regular-season game on Sunday, his home was burglarized. The Medina County Sheriff’s Office said three suspects wearing masks and gloves stole approximately $200,000 in property from the QB’s residence.
Sanders was forced into action against the Ravens after Gabriel was ruled out at halftime. Cleveland’s crowd roared when he took the field and there were loud cheers for his completion. Sanders did not take any snaps with the Browns’ starting offense since being drafted and it showed.
He held onto the ball too long — a problem when he was in college — as the Ravens forced him out of the pocket. Sanders did make a couple of nice throws while trying to rally the Browns (2-8) in the closing moments and nearly threw a game-tying TD pass.
Afterward, Sanders was tough while grading his own performance.
“I don’t think I played good. I don’t think I played good — at all,” Sanders said. “I think it’s a lot of things we need to look at during the week and go and just get comfortable.”
On Wednesday, Stefanski complimented Sanders’ resolve.
“Obviously, he battled to the end,” he said. “We’re right there on that final drive. I think there’s so many things that all of us can do better in those moments so we can finish with a win but, man, all of our guys and then definitely Shedeur, they battled to the end.”
Stefanski said Sanders will get all the first-team reps in practice this week. The Browns had been criticized in some circles for not having the backup QB better prepared for his debut.
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